


Alone Together

by onetruethree



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Ending, Angst, Bisexual Lance, Canon Compliant, Fluff and Angst, Homesick Lance (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Langst, M/M, Pining, Slow Burn, Symbolism, Whump, klangst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2019-03-28 01:21:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13893255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onetruethree/pseuds/onetruethree
Summary: Keith and Lance get separated from the group during a mission and have to find a way to get along."Are you kidding me? Out of anyone in the group, I had to be stuck with you. Just my luck."alternate title: stuck in a island with keith kogane





	1. Chapter 1

"Are you kidding me? Out of anyone in the group, I had to be stuck with you. Just my luck." Lance said, frowning and running through multiple scenarios in his head, none of them sounding any fun.

"Look, Lance, it's not like I enjoy this either. Look what you did to Red!" Keith pouted, and if anyone other than Lance was watching, they would've thought it was cute. Lance just found it annoying.

"Red isn't your lion anymore, anyway. And you destroyed Black just as much."

"Hey! It wasn't my fault you navigated us into an asteroid belt." Keith retorted, escalating the conversation further. 

Lance just sat down on the ground, not wanting to admit it was at least somewhat his fault, although he couldn't exactly remember. "I never asked for this." And when the realization came to him that they were stranded with almost no hope of getting back, his throat started to choke up in panic. But he wouldn't cry in front of Keith. "I'm going to look around. Maybe there's something here we can use to repair the lions."

Keith was also coming to a realization: just how broken the lions were, and therefore, how doomed the both of them were. "Yeah… you do that." It came off as sarcastic, which wasn't his intent. Then, before Lance left him alone to brood, Keith stopped him by saying, "Wait!" And the other boy turned around quickly. "I guess we should try to get along, right?" He held out his hand. "Truce?" 

Lance stared at it for a second, wondering if it was a trick, or if it was genuine. Then, he took it, and shook Keith's hand. "Truce." Neither of them knew if this truce had any chance of holding up, but it was good to have something in place to keep them from killing each other.

Then, Lance trod off into the trees and tried to think about what the truce meant. Keith did the same, and went to search the lions for anything salvageable for them to use. The cockpit of Black was pretty undamaged, but the rest was scattered around the planet. It was hard looking at the lion that way, since it seemed untouchable, and it was hard to believe a few asteroids had done this to it. But he thought nothing of it, since he didn't want to face the reality that he was responsible for it all. In the cockpit, he knew there was an emergency kit somewhere, but the crash had mixed everything around. Even so, after only a minute, he found it lodged under the seat. He felt relief, but then worry crept into his mind again as he looked at how much more damaged Red was-- pieces were scattered about the clearing, and it was almost unrecognisable. It wouldn’t be safe to search for the second emergency kit, so they would have have to make do with the one, and that also meant they would have food for about a week until... he gulped, trying to stay calm, and took deep breaths. But those deep breaths quickly turned into hyperventilating and a burning sensation in his throat. 

"Keith!" He could barely hear through the blood pumping in his ears. "Are you okay?" The voice was closer now. A hand was placed on his shoulder, and the ringing stopped. He turned to see Lance. 

"Lance." It was only one word, but held meaning different to both of them. 

"Did you find anything?" Lance asked, pulling Keith's attention from Red. 

Keith nodded. "I found the emergency supply kit, although it's smaller than I thought. It would've helped if we had both…" he looked back at Red for a second before Lance grabbed his shoulders and turned him away.

"Let's ignore it for now. There's not much we can do, and anyway, if anyone lives around here, they'll see it and help us out!" 

Keith grinned slightly. He wouldn't admit it, but recently, Lance had become synonymous with positivity in his mind. "Thanks Lance. Did you find anything?" 

Other than a few scratches and leaves stuck in his hair, Lance had come back with nothing. He shrugged. "Looks like you were more successful than I was.”

Keith glanced at the kit. It seemed small for something so important, but he shrugged and opened it, hoping it had more in it than it seemed. Inside was a few bags with packets of powder inside labelled "just add water", which they assumed was food; band-aids, ointments, and other first aid equipment; and finally, a small plastic container labelled "tent". Keith was relieved to see all that was in there, but realized they didn't have any of the emergency water to go with the food. It was a design flaw, but he also assumed that there had to be water somewhere if there were all those trees. "Wait, Lance, do you still have your bayard?” Keith asked, hoping they both had something to defend themselves with. He couldn’t just this planet yet, since they knew from experience some places weren’t what they seemed at first glance.

He nodded, holding up the red bayard that had once been Keith’s, but had since become a symbol of their unlikely connection, just like Red. Good, Keith thought, feeling his own blade in his grip, having some sense of security with it. “Ok, Lance, we need to find water. Not only for the food, but also to drink."

"Well, then what are you waiting for? Let's go!" He spun on his heal and jogged off into the forest, leaving Keith trying to catch up. He would rather wander off into the forest than continue to look at the wreckage that he had partially caused. 

The forest was thick with strange trees neither of them recognised. Lance took a note to ask Pidge about them when they got off this planet. They slowly made their way through the foliage in search of some sort of clearing. After a while, it was apparent they hadn't gone in with a plan and most likely would never find what they were looking for. 

"Lance?" Keith said, unsure. The boy in front of him tore town another limb with his bare hands, but stopped in hearing Keith's voice. "Don't you think we should head back now?" He felt helplessness creeping into his stomach. 

“Wait, I feel like we’re almost there." He carelessly sped up, Keith reluctantly trailing behind.

An annoyed look was stuck on his face until he finally made it to where Lance had been running to, and witnessed the boy holding a frog-like creature. Keith resolved not to ask why. Then, he saw the rest of the clearing, and a smile crept onto his face. There was a large pond, surrounded by strange plants.

"You should trust me more often, Keith." 

Keith laughed back. "Lance, you're crazy." 

The frog hopped out of Lance's hands, and they both paused to fill up their canteens before going back. As Keith waited for Lance to finish, he splashed water on his face, and realized this is was the first time he wasn't worrying since they had got there. Then, from the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of something shiny. "Wait-- is that a path? Someone else is--" before he could finish, he felt a drop of rain, and then more, and soon it was pouring. If they got too wet out here, they could get hypothermia. They needed to get into shelter, and the clearing wasn't big enough for them to stay the night. He grabbed Lance's hand and dragged him back through the path they had made. He had no time to think about the feel of Lance's soft hand on his, because it was getting hard to see in front of him, and the ground was starting to slip beneath him. He tightened his grip on Lance's hand, as if asking to trust him. Lance squeezed back. 

Then, right when Keith felt like giving up, they were out of the forest and he could see the red lion from the corner of his eye, the scene refracted through his rain-blurred vision, and it was bittersweet. Then, he felt Lance drop his hand, and that was also bittersweet. They were both shivering, so Keith ran to where he left the kit and grabbed the tent, trying as quickly as he could to get it open. It finally got it open, glad it was an easy tent to put together, even if that came at the sacrifice of enough space for the both of them. Keith sighed in relief and climbed in, finally having a reprieve from the rain. Lance climbed in after him, and although it was made for one person, there was at least enough room for them both to sit up, even if they were incredibly close. 

Lance smiled, and took a sip from his canteen. Keith stared at his hand, first because he was wondering what excuse he could use to hold Lance's hand again, and then because he noticed it was covered in blood. He didn't really have major cuts, just a few scratches here and there, so there was nothing that could cause that much blood. "Lance, let me see your hands." Keith demanded, and Lance complied, holding up his hands. Keith gasped, and grabbed for the kit. In turn, Lance was also shocked by how cut up his hands were. He hadn't felt it before, but now he could, especially with the salt water drying in his cuts. 

Keith, bandages in hand, got even closer to Lance and grabbed on to his arm, trying his hardest to be as gentle as he could. He wrapped the bandages around Lance's hand, and the other boy bit his lip, trying not to cry from the pain. Keith relished in the closeness, yet hated how much pain Lance was in. Once he was done, tears were streaming down Lance's face, but he didn't want to move his hands to wipe them away. Keith took this opportunity to cup Lance's cheek and wipe them away for him. 

"Crybaby." 

"Are you trying to hurt me?" Lance pouted, even though his hands hurt substantially less with Keith's help.

"Of course I am." Another smile crept onto his face, until he realized his hand was still lingering on Lance's face. He pulled it off quickly, but missed the warmth it gave him. They maintained eye contact, and Keith's eyes moved between Lance's eyes and his lips, finally feeling as though he had his chance. His heart beat wildly as he slowly leaned in.

"The rain stopped." Lance pointed out, and crawled away and out of the tent. Keith froze in place, shocked Lance hadn't been on the same page. It seemed as though Lance was the one trying to hurt him, rather than the other way around. But after a while, he healed from the embarrassment enough to crawl out as well. He followed Lance’s gaze to Red, knowing that he also could now see the lion was a poor resemblance to what it once was. Keith bit his lip, trying not to react to the sight. 

"Weird, we're lucky enough to crash on one of the few planets that have rain."

This made Keith smile. Lance was unlike anyone else. It would be torture to stay on an unknown planet with him for the foreseeable future, and not fall even further in love. 

Still staring at the destroyed lion, Keith's heart plummeted at the hues of gray from both the lion and the still stormy skies. But contrasted with the ugly dullness was a brilliant sunset displayed in the sky that they had both overlooked due to the rain. 

Lance sat down, admiring the colors through the gap between the two lions, a frame around the pinks and purples painting the sky. Then, he looked to his right, his bright eyes, which were only highlighted by the sun, searched for Keith, and in finding him smiled wide. The boy patted the spot next to him in the grass and turned back to the scene, inviting Keith to join him in what seemed like introspection. He walked to the spot and bent down, cautiously sitting in the spot, careful not to disturb Lance. But instead of pondering at the golden sky, he instead decided to look at the boy from the corner of his eye, and the sight was more beautiful than any sunset on any world. 

Soon, though, the sun disappeared past the horizon and Lance's bright eyes were already starting to darken with tiredness. Seeing this, Keith stood up to give him a hand. "Come on, let's try and sleep." This was the calmest Lance had ever seen him, and he reveled in the feeling. He took the boy's hand and stood up, now wanting very much to go to sleep, with the sky now completely void of the sun. 

But as they both got into the tent, they realized how cold it really was. They had no pillows, or blankets. As Keith laid on the cold ground, he could feel himself starting to shiver, his body not able to combat the freezing air floating along his skin. Goosebumps pebbled all along his body, and he tried not to think of how much warmer it would be to be closer to Lance. 

Lance, on the other hand, welcomed the feeling of the cold. The air was familiar, and although he couldn’t help but admit there was something uncomfortable about it, he loved how refreshing it was. It calmed him after the stressful day, and he didn’t want to think about what the next day would hold, let alone the next week. This air helped him forget where he was, because he felt like he belonged. But then, in the cramped space of the tent, he could feel Keith shivering next to him, and smiled, moving closer, and then turning to put one arm around him. He had decided he wanted Keith to feel at home as well.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thank you for all your support on the last chapter! I hope you like this chapter as well, and comments are much appreciated.

Lance woke up earlier than usual as the sun shone brightly in his eyes through the thin fabric of the tent. He got up, trying his hardest not to wake Keith, and sat down to watch the sunrise for a while. He mixed a packet of his powdered meals in with water from his canteen and drank the sludge, choking down the bitter taste, knowing it would at least keep him alive. Stepping in the tent, he stared intently at Keith, hypnotized by the rise and fall of his chest. He looked too peaceful to wake, but he had to get up and eat, so Lance shook him awake, hoping he wouldn’t get too annoyed at the interruption of his sleep. He didn’t, instead just squinted at the intrusion of bright light into his tired eyes, not doing much more than frown. 

“Morning, Mullet.”

Keith squinted up at Lance. “Shut up,” he said with a smile. Sleeping on the floor was considerably uncomfortable, but despite his back pain they both decided to hike back to the clearing with the pond. 

“We need to find a better place to take up camp-- right now, we are way too far from water,” Lance had proposed that morning, and Keith agreed, but there were also implications that they would abandon the lions, which saddened him, but ultimately was the best decision. The lions had no use to them anymore, so it was best to leave them behind. They brought their remaining belongings and ventured back to the pond, which both excited and worried Keith. 

The walk there reminded them both of the previous night when they held hands in the rain and both felt a twinge of embarrassment. But both would also be lying if they said that they wouldn’t do it again. 

Once there, the two of them took a much needed moment of reprieve, splashing the cold water in their faces and feeling a short but sweet euphorium. Then, Keith saw that sign of life from the corner of his eye once again-- a quick glint of metal. “Lance,” he pointed towards it, directing Lance’s eye in the same direction, “over there.”

And instead of feeling more lonely, this gave Lance a bit of hope. “Let’s check it out.” Keith agreed with Lance’s proposal and just as ready to follow it, but held his blade close to his body just in case. Lance peeked his head through the trees first, checking to see what that glint was. And then, with a little chuckle, he turned around to Keith. 

“What is it?”

He smiled. “It’s an empty beer can. Trash.” 

Keith was confused at the smile: although this was evidence that someone lived on the planet, this was not solid evidence, or even a clue, that they were nearby. 

“And look-- a road.” Lance pulled the trees back father to reveal a fully paved road, giving them at least a path to somewhere civilized. 

Keith glared at the other boy. “You scared me.” He then lightly punched Lance. “I hate you.” He walked out of the clearing towards the road, looking around. 

“Hate you too.” They both smiled at the familiarity of the harsh words they were used to sharing. 

They started to follow the road, excitement in their veins from the possibility of not being alone for very much longer. 

“Keith, is it just me, or is this road pretty overgrown?” 

He thought for a moment. “Yeah, you’re right.” There were some places so covered with foliage it would be pretty impossible to drive on. “It’s probably not a very used road. But it’s our only hope, right?”

A nod. “True.” 

More silence. Then, “Keith, what if we don’t find anyone?”

Keith didn’t answer, but left an unspoken ‘don’t say that’ from his reaction. “Well, maybe it’s just me, but I’d be fine if we don’t,” Lance said, swallowing, obviously not sure if he should have said it. Keith was still silent, waiting for Lance to continue, and curious where it was going. “I mean, it would be nice to see someone else, but I’ve liked spending time with you?” His cautiousness bled through his words, making it sound like a question. 

“Yeah.”

It wasn’t the response he was looking for, but Lance was just glad he said something. 

Time passed quickly, and the landscape changed from overgrown forests to more pastures and wide open space. At that point, it was just Lance talking to himself. Keith wasn’t annoyed by Lance’s ranting, in fact he enjoyed someone filling the space with meaningless words. But he rarely answered back because he simply didn’t have anything to say. 

 

“Actually, as a kid, my life was pretty simple. Although I didn’t really grow up with parents, my Grandma and siblings raised me, and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.” His face reflected feelings of homesickness. He had said he wasn’t lonely, but Keith felt as though his words reflected a different store. Keith was always suspicious that Lance had been lonely ever since he joined Voltron and was separated from his family. Then, he was silent, too, for a while.

Neither of them spoke again until they saw it-- a town. Lance felt elated. “We’re finally here!” Keith could swear Lance smiled the brightest smile in seeing those few storefronts and parked cars. He never imagined someone being that excited to see a mini mart. 

With a roll of his eyes, Keith gestured to Lance, asking him to follow as he made his way to the store. Lance followed close behind, optimistic about finally seeing someone, or at least something that felt familiar. But Keith was more than skeptical. There was no one in sight. If this wasn’t a ghost town, Keith would honestly be surprised. And his suspicions were realized when he had to pry open the automatic door. 

Once inside, they could see that none of the lights were on, and the only thing lighting up the store was the sun shining in through the windows. Keith looked back at Lance and shrugged, but Lance was already preoccupied with the merchandise. He grabbed bags of chips, candy, and trail mix and smiled like child. 

“Lance, calm down. This is just a convenience store.” Keith teased, not really wanting Lance to calm down. He was so cute when he was excited. 

Lance shook his head. “Keith, this is food. Junk food.” 

Keith was skeptical of the actual quality of the food especially now that he knew this town, or at least the store, had been abandoned. “Lance, maybe think for once before you eat any of that.”

Lance feigned being hurt by Keith’s comment. “Fine. But some of this is bound to be okay.” They agreed to take a few canned foods, then searched around the store for more. The both of them were relieved to see a clothes rack in the corner of the store, although Lance wasn’t happy that they would just be wearing the cheap merchandise offered in gas stations. 

They also grabbed pocket knives behind the counter, wanting to be as safe as possible even with Lance’s bayard and Keith’s blade. 

Then, after one last look over the store, they left the store to further journey towards a large house they could both see in the distance. It surprised Lance to see so few people, since he was used to living with a large family in a fairly populated area. He couldn’t think of a reason why so many people would just abandon a place like this, but at least it did allow them to take what they wanted without any conflict. And it did allow for some alone time. 

“Lance, you okay?” Keith asked, waking him from his train of thought. “We’re here.” 

Lance looked up at the entirety of the house and was in awe. His apartment back home was nowhere near this huge, even for the size of his family. This house had to be at least 100 years old, and although it did look a little run down, it was beautiful. “Yeah, I’m fine.” Lance answered, still staring. Keith went in first, prying the door open easier than expected. The house was just as impressive inside as it was outside, but looked mostly empty from what he could see. There was a kitchen in the front room, and he could see a single couch in the room adjacent, but not much more. Lance followed him as he wandered into the next room, finding a magnificent staircase. 

Once upstairs, they found a few rooms all with beds, a sewing room, and another large family room, almost identical to the one downstairs, only completely empty. 

“Keith, I’m gonna get dressed...” Lance said, his sentence trailing off as if to imply a ‘don’t look’ at the end. And although Keith very much would have liked to look, he went into a separate room to change as well. When he went back into the master bedroom, Lance had set down all the food and other items they had accumulated on the floor, and sat on the bed, Twinkie in hand. 

“Lance, really? A Twinkie?”

Lance smirked, taking another bite. “They never get old.” He handed one to Keith. 

Keith could swear he saw Lance wink. “Lance, was that a lame attempt at flirting?” It wouldn’t surprise him if it was; Lance loved to flirt with anyone and anything. But he was right: the Twinkie was still good. 

“Do you want it to be?”

Keith rolled his eyes. “I’m too tired for this, I’m going to sleep.” It wasn’t ever entirely dark yet, but both of them were tired from the long day. 

“Wait, who said you get the master bed?” Lance asked, jokingly outraged. 

Keith hesitated before answering, “Well, it’ll be cold at night anyway,” implying a proposition that they both sleep in the same bed. 

He made a good point, but Lance still blushed. “Okay.”

They fell asleep, backs together, both feeling the other’s warmth, and both trying to suppress their want to be closer.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Lance, are you okay?” 
> 
> He was disoriented for a while, but then looked sharply into Keith’s eyes, tears still filling his gaze. He blinked a few times, forcing the tears out of his eyes. “Yeah... I’m fine.” His response wasn’t convincing, even to Keith.

That night was when the nightmares started. Keith woke up to the tosses and turns of Lance, and at first it was just a small annoyance. He was having a particularly good dream that night. But in seeing how serious his insomnia really was, Keith became really concerned for Lance’s wellbeing. And then he caught a glimpse of a tear running down his cheeks. He didn’t particularly know what to do, but he shook him awake out of instinct. 

“Lance, are you okay?” 

He was disoriented for a while, but then looked sharply into Keith’s eyes, tears still filling his gaze. He blinked a few times, forcing the tears out of his eyes. “Yeah... I’m fine.” His response wasn’t convincing, even to Keith. 

“You sure?” Keith asked, once more reaching out, hoping Lance would tell him the truth. He searched Lance’s face for sign of his usual, confident self.

Lance licked his lips, cracked and dry from his restless sleep. He took a deep breath, and then shook his head. “No, I’m not.”

“Lance, you can talk to me.” He couldn’t recall a time he had ever been this sincere with someone, especially not Lance, the one he was used to bickering with.

He was silent for a while, contemplating whether he should tell Keith about it or not. “Well, it was a nightmare. But it was more than that. It felt real.”

Keith himself had just had a very real dream that night, but it was definitely not a nightmare. 

“I felt as if I was really in pain,” Lance continued. Pain? Keith thought, seriously worried. “It was all of us, all the paladins, but we were losing. The Galra were winning, and destroying everything we helped save.” He was now fully crying, and he was shaking from the sobs. “I’m sorry, I’m a mess. But it was so... real.”

Keith didn’t know what to do other than pull Keith into his arms. “It’s okay, Lance.” He heart beat just as fast as Lance’s, but for different reasons. “No one is here to hurt you.” 

Lance pulled back, looking at least slightly happier. “Thank you, Keith.” His smile broke Keith’s heart. It was so amazingly beautiful, but still somehow sad. 

Lance did actually feel better, but it would be even better if they went somewhere to keep his mind off of it. “Can we... go somewhere?”

Keith shrugged. “Sure.” He himself also wanted to keep his mind off his own dream. 

\---

They decided to follow the road towards a town they could see in the distance. It wasn’t the largest town, but it had a few things to do; it even had a mall, which Lance was especially excited about. Keith let him go in because of how his day had started out. Lance curiously wandered around the mall, looking at store after store, but they all seemed pretty boring, until they got to one covered completely in pink and purple. 

“No, Lance, I am not going in there.” He laughed, but gave in within seconds, following Lance into the princess-themed shop. 

There were tiaras, costume jewelry, and accessories littering the aisles and walls, and it took a while for Keith to take it all in. The fact that all the clothes in the store were to small to fit either of them didn’t stop Lance from loving it. “This seems like a store I would go to with my sisters.” 

Keith smiled, imagining Lance’s family, sad he was never able to meet them.

Lance laughed, thinking back to those times. His smile was definitely more real than this morning, and it warmed Keith’s heart. Then, Lance grabbed the sparkliest tiara he could find and plopped it on Keith’s head. “You look beautiful.” Keith rolled his eyes, but didn’t take the tiara off. 

After a few more minutes of trying on accessories, Lance felt sufficiently stylish, with a feather boa and a pair of hoop earrings, and they left the store. On a usual day, Keith would take Lance to another store as pay-back, but he didn’t want to be too harsh on him because of that morning. So instead, they decided to go to the theatre, even though there wouldn’t be any movies playing. 

Lance led Keith to one of the theatres and he walked up to the very back. “I’ve always wanted to be alone in a theatre.”

Keith hummed in agreement and sar down next to him, imagining they were watching a movie together rather than just staring blankly at a dark screen. It felt much like a date, and Keith half wished it was. “Did you ever go on movie dates?” Keith blurted, only realizing how his statement could come across after he said it. 

“A few.” Lance answered simply. “Actually, one of my worst dates ever was in a movie theatre.” Keith sat up, intrigued. “We didn’t even make it through the previews when she suddenly burst into tears, apparently out of nervousness.”

Keith giggled at that. Even if Lance wasn’t feeling his best, he never failed to cheer Keith up. “So, what did you do?”

Lance tried to keep a straight face. “Well, I couldn’t do much. She just ran out after that, and we never had a second date. Still not my worst one, though.”

Keith didn’t prod him for more stories, as he knew he was already homesick, but he decided to tell the story anyway. 

“My worst one would probably have to be around a year after that.” Lance was close to breaking out in laughter. “It was his first time going out with a guy, and he was super nervous.” He thought for a second. “Guess I attract a lot of nervous people. But anyway, after a pretty charming coffee date, I try to kiss him at the door and he throws up right in front of me.” He was choking out laughs, and Keith with him. 

Keith was laughing, but he also realized this was the first time Lance had ever mentioned dating men. He never seemed like the kind of guy to be limited by his date’s gender, but Keith always had his doubts. 

Lance felt his body convulse with the feeling of laughter, feeling at home next to Keith like this, especially with Keith smiling so beautifully in front of him. It was calming and reassuring to feel something so familiar. But he was also aware that this wasn’t his real home. He had never really been good with change, and these past few days were the most change he had ever felt in his life. Keith stared at him, and it made Lance nervous that it was because he had been laughing far too long, or perhaps because he hadn’t found it funny at all. Really, Keith was mesmerized by Lance’s laugh, relieved that he was happy after that morning. Lance stopped laughing, embarrassed, but a mumble slipped from his Keith’s mouth. 

“You okay?” Keith asked, out of genuine concern.

“I’m fine,” Lance answered, yet the imprint of ‘I love you’ was still dancing on his lips. 

Keith interrupted the silence. “My dreams were interesting last night.” He paused to check the look on Lance’s face to see if he was really fine. “We were dating, and sneaking around the other paladins.” It was casual enough, but he was testing the waters. Depending on Lance’s reaction, it could mean he was fine with the idea of them dating. 

“And?” 

“Well, they all seemed to know anyway. But it was exciting nonetheless, and it felt so... real.” Keith closed his eyes, thinking back to the feelings from the dream. They really were exactly what he wanted with Lance, and it was amazing to have that, even if only in a dream. 

“Would you prefer it to be?” Lance proposed out of the blue.

“Huh?”

“Would you prefer it to be real?” His heartbeat sped up, nervousness filing his veins. Tired of waiting for answer, he opted to put his hands on Keith’s cheeks, cupping his face. “Can I kiss you?”

It was a dream come true for both of them, even literally for Keith. He quickly nodded. “Yes.” His answer was instinct, and before he could realize it was his first kiss, Lance closed the gap between them and pressed their lips together. At first, it was just the both of them feeling the warmth of the other, reveling in the feeling. Keith’s lips twitched in nervousness while Lance attempted to add tongue. Keith pulled away quickly, though, worried he would mess up. 

They searched each other’s faces for a second before Keith initiated the kiss this time, trying to remember how kissing Lance in the dream worked, and using that memory to guide. With more confidence this time, he allowed his tongue to dance against Lance’s. His hands instinctively found Lance’s hair and brushed it softly, somehow knowing that Lance would love this. 

Lance reached to play with Keith’s hair as well, but found the tiara he had placed on Keith’s head earlier, and chuckled to himself.

Then, a flash of pain found its way into Keith’s memory. 

Lance felt a similar pang of memory, but for him, he felt as if they had done this before. 

They broke the kiss. 

“Should we talk about this?” Keith asked, not knowing how to proceed from here.

Lance’s eyes were filled with tears. “I missed you.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith woke up in a cold sweat, Lance next to him, trying to calm him. 
> 
> “Why didn’t you tell me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry I'm a little late for this chapter, but I hope you guys like it! :)   
> I can't believe all the support on the last few chapters, I never really expected so many people to read this, so thank again!

“Keith, it’s time to wake up.” The boy was greeted with a wide-smiling face, but this time, not Lance’s-- it was Allura’s. 

“Allura?” He questioned, then looked around the room. It was his room on the castle. As he shook of his drowsiness, he could help but conclude that the past few days were nothing but a dream. If he and Lance had kissed, it had to be a dream. “Why so happy?” He asked, putting on his usual irritable face, pretending that everything was normal, that he wasn’t scared out of this mind. 

“Today’s the day,” she exclaimed, happier than he had ever seen her be. The day for what? He thought to himself, but then it came back to him. This was it: the day they win. They had the whole thing planned, and they had been waiting for the day, as if it was a sure thing. Voltron was stronger than it had ever been, with an extra paladin, it gave them hope more than anything. Even though Keith didn’t pilot a lion, he was there to support with the Blade of Marmora. And if anything goes wrong with Shiro, he can pilot the Black Lion. So they felt entirely prepared for that day. 

“Okay, I’ll be out in five.” He smiled quickly at the princess and sat up, trying to get himself together. It was a stressful day; of course Keith would have gone a little crazy, so he tried to think nothing of the extremely vivid dream. Allura left the room, letting Keith get ready for the big day. As he got his clothes on, he heard a knock at the door. “Come in,” he stated, quickly pulling his shirt on. It was Lance on the other side, smiling widely as expected.  
“Hey, Mullet, you ready?” 

It was unusual for Lance to come his door like that, but he kept a straight face. “Yeah, I guess.” And as he said it, memories of that strangely vivid dream flooded back, and he remembered kissing Lance in the movie theatre. His face suddenly went red. 

“Come on, Keith, are you gonna act like that even on a day like this? Cheer up.” Lance approached Keith as he spoke, finally coming close enough to caress Keith’s cheek, attempting to calm the boy. Then, just as casually, he quickly kissed Keith, also as an attempt to calm him. 

Keith was taken aback, but again, he remembered that they actually had been dating for almost a month now. How had he forgotten that? He pulled Lance into a longer kiss this time, and it was much more natural than he remembered it being in the dream. He melted into Lance’s arms, finding comfort in his warmth. Then, Lance broke the kiss. “I’m calm now,” Keith said, with a genuine smile this time. 

Lance left the room happier than when he had entered, if that was possible. 

Once Keith made his way out of his room, he actually was calmed down. Even though that dream was an odd one, he decided that it was normal, and it was just nerves. He clutched his blade tight to his side, feeling some sense of security. 

“Keith’s finally up! Good morning, sleepyhead,” Pidge said, waving him over to the table, where they were all eating some special breakfast Hunk had made for them. 

“Looks good.” A wave of happiness washed over Keith as he sat down and bit in to his omelette-like breakfast. It was one of the best things Hunk had made which was saying a lot. Taking another bite, he looked across the table to Lance, searching in his eyes for any sense of memory from the ‘dream’. This version seemed very different than the one from the dream, in a way Keith couldn’t quite place. 

Keith then realized he had been staring too long and looked down, but not before Pidge let out a, “Gross, guys,” with a laugh. 

Shiro stepped into the conversation. “Guys, no PDA at the table,” he scolded, but not entirely seriously. 

They all laughed, alleviating their stress, and allowing themselves to have a moment of happiness before the day ahead of them. 

Keith was caught up in the bliss of it all, and the darkness from within him was fading away, the strangely vivid dream from before melting away, as if it had never happened. 

But soon, that darkness came back, and Keith felt his stomach getting tight as he watched the others laughing around him. There was something coming, that very something that this Lance was missing, that his dream was full of. He heard a crash in the other room, and the others stopped laughing. That moment was over, and it was the last one they would have with each other, that idyllic scene forever gone, tainted in Keith’s mind. 

He head Allura’s scream and knew it was over. They had been found. 

There shouldn’t have been any way to find the castle, they had perfectly planned it all. Unless there was someone from within who...

In looking over at Shiro, he saw his eyes glint over with a sinister red, and he immediately knew what had happened. How could he have not seen this coming?

Then, it all came back to him. The screams of his friends ringing through the halls of the castle, and then the silence afterward. Abandoning his best friend and hero, Shiro -- leaving him to die at the hands of his kind. 

And lastly, the humiliation of running away, knowing they had given up, that they could never go back to the old days. 

\---

Keith woke up in a cold sweat, Lance next to him, trying to calm him. 

“You okay?” Then, even softer than before, “do you remember?”

Keith nodded. He remembered all of it now, just as Lance had the night prior. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was trying to give you one more day. Remembering what happened kind of ruined the peace I was feeling here with you and I didn’t want you to have to relive all of it again.” Lance smiled warmly, holding Keith hand tight in his own.

“How did we forget all of it? It seems almost impossible now.”

Lance looked down at his hand, still wrapped in a bandage from the first day, clenched tightly around Keith’s. “I think the lions wanted to give us a few more days. We are bonded with them, so it could be plausible.”

Keith nodded. “What do we do now?”

That was when Lance ran out of answers. There really was no direction to their journey now that they knew there was no one coming to save them. Voltron, all of them fighting evil together, it was all gone know. He wondered what would be happening now that the Galra were virtually unmatched now. “I don’t know. I don’t think there’s anything we can do.” 

They stared in silence at the blank movie screen, Keith pulling his hand away to play with the fake tiara. He was trying to come to terms with what he had learned, but he couldn’t stop replaying that memory in his mind as if it was only a dream. He wished it was only a dream. But it was real. 

Just as real as the boy sitting next to him, who was grieving as well, trying to hide the tears streaming down his face. Keith reached over to Lance, wiping a few tears away, and spoke, simply, “We’ll figure it out.” 

He wasn’t sure it was true, but he meant it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Yeah. I want to know what happened to them.”
> 
> Lance wore a crooked smile. “I’d like to, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry I didn't post this chapter last week. It was Spring Break and I didn't have much time to write. But I hope you enjoy it! Thanks again for all your support! <3

“Everything about it is still fuzzy. I can’t even remember what happened... just that it was terrifying.” Keith explained, Lance’s hand in his own as they walked aimlessly through the roads of the town. 

“Do you want me to tell you what happened?” Lance squeezed Keith hand as reassurance, really wanting to be sure he was fine. 

“Yeah. I want to know what happened to them.”

Lance wore a crooked smile. “I’d like to, too.”

Keith’s heart sunk in disappointment. 

“But I’ll tell you the little I do know.” Lance continued, “When the Galra attacked, I do remember Shiro going crazy. We got separated from the others, but I don’t know whether they’re alive or not. I don’t even know what happened to Shiro. There was just no way to get back to them...” Lance trailed off, haunted by the memories. “Sorry that I couldn’t be of much help.” 

Keith comforted Lance. “No, it’s fine. I just wish I knew where they all were, that they were okay.”

“Oh, so you do care about people other than yourself,” Lance joked. 

In response, Keith softly hit him. “Come on, I’m being serious.” 

“Just trying to lighten the mood.”

Keith rolled his eyes at that, but he was glad that it was said. After a long while of silent contemplation, Keith spoke up. “I loved you,” he observed.

“Loved? Past tense?”

He shrugged. “I know we were dating before, but I can’t remember much of it. Not even our first date, or any specifics about those few weeks. The memories just didn’t come back, I guess.”

Lance’s eyes lit up with sympathy. “Keith, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” He was in shock at Keith’s revelation. “Well, I’ll do anything to help you get those memories back.”

“Do you think I could?” 

Lance nodded. “Absolutely. So, do you want a second first date?” 

“I would love to.”

\---

Although Keith didn’t initially know where Lance would take him, he had a few ideas. And he did expect it when he found himself in a fairly fancy restaurant, probably the nicest one in the town. He looked to Lance knowingly and sat down at the table, the other boy sitting next to him. 

“So, why here?” Keith asked, curious yet happy that this was where Lance had chosen.

“What, don’t you like it?” Lance joked. Then, hesitating to change the tone, he asked, ”Do you really not remember any of it?”

Wrinkling his brow, Keith opened his mouth to protest. Of course he remembered Voltron, joining the blade, meeting Lance, but there was a gap in his memory: the last thing he remembered seemed to be weeks before the incident, and there was a large amount of time that wasn’t accounted for, which included the entire time he had dated Lance. He hated that he had to admit this to Lance, knowing how much it hurt him. He wish he could remember. All he had were feelings, and even those were still fuzzy in his mind. We also wished he didn’t have to watch as Lance shattered in front of him, his stomach dropping and his posture changing to match. Keith couldn’t keep watching Lance’s eyes tear up in silence, so he said, “Wait. I do remember something. I remember... I loved you.” That also didn’t seem to help. To Lance, they had been dating for a while. He remembered them confessing their feelings to each other, but now, Keith wasn’t ready for that. “But, I still do have feelings for you. The last few days weren’t a lie.” That only seemed to make Lance feel slightly better. Keith frowned and spoke again. “Can you tell me about what it was like? Maybe then I’ll remember.”

Lance perked up. “Okay. So. Our first date was in a place very similar to this one. I had finally asked you out, and you actually agreed. At the time, I had thought that you maybe just wanted a free meal out of it, but then, there was a second date. And a third.” Lance smiled, thinking back on it, but the smile slowly faded, and he swallowed down more tears. He would have a hard time coming to terms with the fact that Keith really didn’t remember any of it. 

“Did Hunk ever cook for us?”

Lance nodded. “Yes, actually. It was our one week anniversary, and so he made a very special three course meal. Of course, it was a little odd because of the weird ingredients from space, but it was still pretty good.” He thought back once more, the memory now turned bittersweet. He had no idea where Hunk was, or if they would ever see him again. But it was still one of his happiest days. 

“One week anniversary? That seems like a little much.” 

“That’s what you said back then, too. But it was still fun for the both of us.”

There was silence between the both of them as they felt a rift between them. Everything had changed, not only from before the incident, but even from the previous day, when neither of them remembered. A part of Keith wished the memories hadn’t come back to Lance. 

Then, they both heard a loud, oddly familiar sound, and jumped up. Exchanging looks, they ran outside to see that there was a large structure they never expected to see again: the Castle. 

The sat, staring, in silence as it landed on its own. “H-how did we find it?” Keith said in shock.

“I think it found us.” Lance commented. There was no way this was a coincidence. 

“Is that even possible? Should we trust it?”

“I don’t know, but we can’t just ignore it. We need to check it out.”

They stepped inside and took in the sight. It was virtually unchanged, not even destroyed from their conflict with the Galra. It seemed like a dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I will definitely be writing more of this fic, but I am going to take a short hiatus from it to work on other works, but don't worry, I will post the next chapter within a few weeks!


End file.
